1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the sports of bodysurfing and swimming and, more particularly, to a pair of hand fins worn by bodysurfers, swimmers and like users in water.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, the sport of bodysurfing has increased in popularity. As distinguished from the sport of surfboarding, wherein a surfer typically stands on a board which is propelled through the water by wave action, a bodysurfer adopts a generally prone position in the water, with both arms forwardly outstretched and allows his or her body to be propelled through the water by the action of the waves. Rather than standing on a board, the bodysurfer places his or her hands on a buoyant support and pushes against the same to raise at least his or her head and upper torso out of the water.
The prior art has proposed various buoyant supports to increase buoyancy and otherwise assist the bodysurfer in traveling through the water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,842 discloses a single symmetrical buoyant support having a compartment in which one hand of a bodysurfer is inserted, as well as a top wall on which the other hand is placed. In use, a prone bodysurfer raises his or her head and upper torso by pushing downwardly with both hands on the single buoyant support.
However, the known bodysurfing supports have not proven to be altogether satisfactory. For example, the support described in the aforementioned patent is too easily pulled away from the bodysurfer's hands by wave action. The hand lying on the top wall of the support often slides off during use since the top wall is smooth and slippery when wet. Also, water enters the compartment of the support and, despite the presence of recessed portions and ridges to help the bodysurfer obtain a better grip on the support, the water entering the compartment pulls the support away. The force of the entering water and the wave action encountered during bodysurfing are often too great for all but the strongest individuals to withstand in order to prevent pulling away of the buoyant support. Once the support has pulled away, the bodysurfer has no means to support himself or herself for traveling through the water. Also, whenever the bodysurfer needs or wishes to swim, the support described in the aforementioned patent must be abandoned or somehow carried along, thereby hampering the swimming action.
Even when the bodysurfer is successful in holding onto the known buoyant supports, said supports still have not proven to be altogether satisfactory in performance in terms of providing good stability in, and guidance through, the waves. More particularly, the support in the aforementioned patent does not provide adequate steering and/or tracking.
Also, the known supports do not assist the bodysurfer while he or she is swimming out from shore to catch a wave. During swimming, free flexing of the wrist, both up and down, is desirable, but is not readily permitted without mechanical interference with the buoyant support in the known prior art supports.
As a result of the above factors and other considerations, the sport of bodysurfing has been hampered in its growth. Individuals do not like to have their fun ruined by having their sports equipment pulled away each time, or frequently, when they ride a wave. A loose buoyant support also poses a safety hazard, since it can strike and injure the surfer or another. Moreover, the lack of steering and tracking, and the lack of aiding the individual when swimming out to meet the wave, are very undesirable and limit the fun associated with the sport. Finally, it would be desirable to increase the buoyancy of bodysurfing supports, as well as to increase the speed of a surfer through the water.